Cool Story, Bro
by PhunkyBrewster
Summary: A story written for the following prompt, received on Tumblr: "prompt: danny, mindy, richie and rishi all hang out together for the first time :-)" This is also a story for HelenVanPattersonPatton's The First Time Collection.


**A/N: This story is based on the following prompt from an anonymous Tumblr user: "prompt: danny, mindy, richie and rishi all hang out together for the first time :-)" This is also my submission for the lovely HelenVanPattersonPatton's _The Mindy Project First Time Collection. _:o)**

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"It's a shame Ramon couldn't make the trip," Danny called over his shoulder to his younger brother as he trudged down the hall with Richie's duffel bag. "It would have been nice to see him again. How's he doing?"

"Good, but stressed," Richie replied with a sigh, running a hand through his thick hair. "Getting a runway show during PrideFest is a huge deal. The coordinating alone is sucking the life out of him. He says hi, though, and he sent a customized pair of chaps with me to give you as a gift."

"Great," Danny responded half-heartedly. They arrived at his door and he fished the apartment keys out of his pocket. "I'll make sure to, uh, send you with a thank you note for him."

Richie gave a low chuckle. "You actually responded a lot better than I thought you would. Mindy must be bringing out a softer side to you."

The mention of Mindy caused Danny's lips to curl into a smile almost on their own accord. "Yeah, that must be it." He keyed into the apartment and led them inside, flipping on the light and heading towards his room. "I'm setting you up in here, Rich, then I'll call in the order to the Chinese place on 45th."

"My favorite," Richie sat on the couch and removed his shoes. "I've been looking forward to it since I landed."

Just then, Danny heard his phone chirp with a special tone that made him immediately dive for his back pocket. He called out to his brother.

"Hey, make yourself at home. I've gotta take this call real quick." He closed his door, wanting to keep his conversation private, and took a moment to take in the new picture flashing across his screen. It was a picture that she clearly took herself the night before while lying in his bed. He's learned that her sneakiness had its benefits at times, sometimes resulting in a sexy photo in his messenger bag or a piece or lingerie in his drawer. This picture was tame, just a simple coy smile to the camera with her hair fanned across his pillow. The woman knew how to capture a flawless picture of herself. Smiling, he swiped the answer button with his thumb.

"Hey, Min, are you close by?"

"Babe, don't get mad."

Danny's smile immediately vanished. "Mindy, we've talked about you starting conversations that way. Nobody says that unless there's a strong possibility that the other person will, in fact, get mad. Now I feel riled up and I don't even know why!"

His voice unintentionally raised, he turned towards the door and wondered if Richie could hear him.

"Well, that's not my fault," he heard Mindy insist, "because I specifically instructed you not to get mad!"

"Okay, just tell me what happened," he sighed as he took a seat on the bed.

"So, I know I told you that I would come by tonight and spend time with you and Richie and I know he's only in town for, like, a day," she began. "But Rishi surprised me and came into town about an hour ago! He's here for the weekend and I really haven't spent time with him in a while."

Danny released a relieved breath, grateful that the news wasn't worse. "That's great, babe. You were just saying how much you wished you could see him more."

"I know!" she squealed, the excitement apparent even through the receiver. "I just know how much it means to you to have all of us hang out when he's here. So he's only staying for the night?"

"Basically," Danny replied. "He'll be here until after we have brunch in the morning, then he'll head over to Staten to spend the rest of his time here with Ma. It's kind of a small window."

"Damn."

In an instant, Danny perked up. "Hey, how about you bring Rishi? We can all hang out together! If he's here for the weekend, you would still have time afterwards to yourselves. How about it?"

There was a silence on the other line, then Mindy's voice returned after a few seconds, light and hopeful. "Wow, our families spending time with each other for the first time? How official does _that_ sound?"

Rubbing the back of his neck and feeling his face get a little warm, the smile from earlier returned to his face. "We've been pretty official for a while now, Min."

"Yeah, but our families _meeting_? That's a setup for something more -"

"Permanent. Yeah, it is," Danny interjected with a soft, but sure voice. "So are you two coming by, or what?"

After a brief silence, Mindy's voice returned, sounding a little thicker than before. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, we'll be there in about five minutes. We're not far."

"Okay, babe. See you both soon."

He hung up the phone and returned to the living room, filling Richie in on the added guest. Minutes later he heard the telltale buzz of Mindy and Rishi's arrival. He let them in and waited for them to arrive at the door. He turned to Richie. "You and Rishi are really going to hit it off. I'm glad you guys are getting the chance to finally meet."

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Richie replied with a smile. Moments later they heard the far-off ding of the elevator Danny opened the door and popped he head out into the hallway. He immediately spotted his very colorful girlfriend quickly make her way down the hall with her tall, lanky younger brother in tow.

"Hey, handsome," Mindy greeted cheerfully, pressing a quick, but firm kiss to Danny's lips as soon as she reached him. Danny found the restrained greeting amusing, considering that they usually said hello to each other much more spiritedly. The presence of their family forced them to behave themselves in a way that they hadn't grown accustom to, even after months of dating. Mindy entered the apartment and stepped to the side to allow Danny and Rishi to say hello to each other. Danny stuck out his hand, which Rishi immediately took in a friendly shake.

"Rish, my man, it's good to see you again," Danny smiled warmly. Rishi grinned back.

"Hey, Danny, good to see you, too!" Rishi adjusted his glasses and entered the apartment, shaking off his light jacket to hang on the coat rack. "I hope I'm not messing up any plans by popping up like this."

Danny waved him off. "You're fine, Rish. Actually, your timing is pretty impeccable. Now you get to meet my brother. Rishi, this is Richie. Richie, Mindy's brother Rishi."

It was a strange thing for Danny, the anxious feeling he was experiencing at the sight of Richie interacting with Rishi for the first time. Not only had the stakes never felt quite this high, he would have never guessed that he would be in this position with Mindy damn Lahiri, the woman who drove him insane during their residency, then drove him madly in love.

He and Mindy watched as the two young men shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, Rishi."

"Yeah, you too, bro."

They both dropped their arms and stood silently, neither of them seeming to know how to proceed. Danny had hoped that Rishi would have Mindy's gift for gab, a trait that made it easy for her to strike a conversation with quite literally any person she came into contact with. Castellano men were stoic by nature.

"This is so exciting!" Mindy exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "Look at you two! Young Castellano and young Lahiri, meeting at last to embark on a friendship so destined for greatness –"

"Uh, Mindy," Rishi interrupted cautiously. "That's a lot right now. Let's just…" In lieu of finishing his thought, he simple made a lowering motion with his hand, a signal that Mindy immediately read as "Bring it down a notch." She clamped her mouth shut and looked at the floor.

"Hey," Danny piped up. "I was about to order some Chinese food. Mindy, spare ribs and sautéed broccoli for you, I'm guessing. Richie, General Tso's chicken with lo mein. Rishi, what do you feel like? You want to see the menu?"

Rishi gave an expression that looked almost pained. "Actually, I'm, uh, not into Chinese food. The MSG, y'know…but hey, I can always grab something from somewhere else."

"Rishi, is this new?!" Mindy questioned.

"Not really. It's been a year and a half, at least."

"I have got to visit you more."

"Hey, don't be silly, Rish," Danny cut in. "We should all eat together! Here, we'll order from somewhere else. Richie, I'll make sure we pick up some Chinese before you head to Ma's tomorrow."

Richie shrugged, attempting to mask his disappointment. "Nah, it's fine. We can get something else."

"Well, what about pizza?" Mindy offered. "There's this amazing place that Danny and I always order from and their veggie pizza is pretty amazing. I even got Danny to admit that he liked it. So…yeah?"

"I'm down," Rishi agreed readily. Danny grabbed the phone and prepared to dial the number just as Richie spoke up.

"Actually, I just recently cut dairy out of my diet," he revealed. "PrideFest is coming up, I've gotta be speedo-ready, y'know?"

Danny tamped down a sigh as he carefully set the phone down, not wanting his frustration to rise to the surface. "Okay, no MSG, no dairy, uh…" He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "There's this burger place that delivers! Min, remember a couple weeks ago when we –"

"Yeah!" she immediately caught on. "They have everything! Beef burgers, bison burgers, salmon burgers, if you're into counting that as a burger, which I don't, but whatever."

"They have a black bean burger that I also fail to recognize as an actual burger," Danny added, "but it's pretty good and probably a safe bet. What do you guys think?"

Both brothers shrugged and agreed to the suggestion. Danny slapped the table in triumph and went to a drawer in the kitchen, pulling out two menus for City Burgers and handing one each to Richie and Rishi. After both chose a meal, Danny grabbed the phone once again and dialed the number. Mindy made her way over to the couch and plopped next to Richie. There was silence, sans the sound of Danny reciting the group's order. After a while, Mindy decided to break the ice.

"So, Richie, are you still not considering moving back to New York? I swear, if Danny could trade his career for the possibility of having you live in the same state again, I'm pretty sure he'd jump at the chance."

Richie laughed. "Nah, not at the moment. Ramon and I are so happy where we are right now that we can't even entertain the thought of leaving."

"Oh, you're gay?"

The question came from across the room where Rishi stood. All eyes, including Danny's, turned to him to find an expression of awkward interest. Mindy shot him a glare.

"Uh," Richie uttered, his eyebrows furrowed, "that I am."

Rishi appeared to process the new information, then nodded. "That's dope."

"Oh," Richie replied. "Thanks?"

"Okay!" Danny came from around the counter, desperate to deflect attention from the most recent exchange. "Burgers will be here in half an hour. How about we get into that bottle of wine you brought, Rich?" Danny quickly ducked into his room and grabbed the bottle of red from his brother's duffel bag. "Where did you find it, by the way?"

Richie sat up and turned towards Danny's room. "It's from a local winery in Ft. Lauderdale. It's amazing." He then turned to Rishi. "So, Rishi, have you ever been to Florida?"

Rishi took a seat in a nearby arm chair. "Nah, Florida doesn't seem like my kind of thing. Isn't it basically swamp and racism?"

Blinking and visibly taken aback by the assertion, Richie responded. "Well, there is swampland present in parts and there are racist people everywhere in the world…I don't think it's fair to categorize the entire state under such a broad umbrella. That would be like me saying that Boston is just roadside trash and drunks."

"HEY!" Mindy and Richie cried in unison, clearly offended.

Richie held up his hands in faux surrender. "Not my opinion, just an example."

Danny rubbed the side of his face, internally groaning at how badly this meeting was going in such a short amount of time. It was like seeing his car careen off the road just as the steering wheel locked, unable to right it and forcing him to accept the forthcoming crash. Still, he felt an obligation to get them through the night. It was his idea to bring them together. Mindy would never let him live it down if the night wasn't somewhat successful.

"Rishi, Mindy told me that you just won a talent contest at your school. That's pretty cool!"

Mindy perked up with a smile. "Not only did he win, a nearby night club offered him an MC job for their weekly hip-hop nights! He gets to stay in school and still do his music thing and our parents are spared the obligatory shit fit. Perfect."

Rishi smiled proudly, happy to get his sister's approval. "Thanks, Mindy." He turned to Richie. "So, Rich, do you like any rap music?"

Danny simply shook his head as he uncorked the wine and poured four glasses, already recognizing the direction this topic would take. Richie was very opinionated when it came to certain music, rap included. Knowing Rishi's passion towards the culture, he assumed the conversation wouldn't go well.

"Not really," Richie answered. "I find rap to be pretty homophobic and misogynistic."

Rishi emitted a short laugh. "Well, I don't think it's fair to categorize an entire genre of music under such a broad umbrella."

Mindy mumbled "Oh God" as she stood to join Danny in the kitchen. Rishi continued.

"Hip Hop has a history of being a frontier for social and political awareness. Yeah, there are some immature rappers out there – even I was one of them years ago – but music grows with the artists. The Roots, Common, Kanye West – "

"Oh, GOD," Richie groaned. "Don't even get me _started_ on Kanye!"

"Shit, here we go," Danny mumbled under his breath while Mindy pulled the bottle from his grasp and filled her glass to the top, taking a large swig before rounding on him.

"This is **not **how this was supposed to go," she hissed to Danny. "They were supposed to get along, bond over embarrassing stories of us, make fun of how annoyingly cute we are as a couple, then team up over board games and alcohol. Danny, do something!"

Danny swallowed his sip and looked at her helplessly. "Min, I can't make two grown men get along, I'm sorry!"

They returned to the debate unfolding before them.

"So, just because Kanye talks about social issues and has a catchy song or two, that gives him the right to be a dick?"

"He's not a dick, he's just real," Rishi defended, beginning to gesticulate with his hands. "He doesn't sugarcoat, he tells it like it is! And he does so much more than come up with catchy songs: he produces, he acts, he's a well-educated clothing designer –"

"Hey, uh, Richie's boyfriend, Ramon, designs clothes!" Danny interjected desperately. "He cuts the butt out of things!"

All eyes were on Danny as Mindy said under her breath. "Really? That's your genius attempt to bridge the gap?"

"I don't know, _you_ think of something!"

Mindy pinched the bridge of her nose as the brothers continued.

"Look, I'm just saying that the man is misunderstood."

"There's a difference between being misunderstood and being a hypocrite," Richie countered. "Don't act like this super conscious guy above materialism and then link yourself with a Kardashian."

"Hey, Kim may be annoying and materialistic, but she's fine as hell. Yeezy can't be faulted for that."

"That's ridiculous!"

"It's not ridiculous! You're just being narrow-minded!"

"Everything about this is my personal hell right now," Mindy stated plainly, grabbing one of the glasses to take to her brother. She nodded towards the fourth filled glass, signaling for Danny to follow suit. "C'mon, Danny. Suffer this certain hell with me."

"Yeah, yeah," he complied, picking up the glass and following Mindy into the living room. He handed it to Richie.

"Thanks," he mumbled, immediately taking a sip.

Mindy mirrored Danny and handed the wine to her brother.

"T'ank you, seestra," Rishi responded, suddenly speaking in a strange accent that, to Danny, sounded vaguely European.

Mindy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you've been doing that ever since I picked you up, it's so annoying! What even _is_ that?!"

"Is that an Orphan Black reference?"

Danny turned to Richie, not able to tell if this was going to be another point of contention or if he was simply curious.

Rishi pointed at Richie, his eyebrows raised. "You watch Orphan Black?"

"Obsessed with it," Richie responded enthusiastically, the previous argument seemingly forgotten. "I think I'm the only one of my friends that watches it."

"Me too!" Rishi turned so that he was fully facing the younger Castellano. "Tatiana Maslany is gorgeous and insanely talented!"

"Could you believe she wasn't nominated for an Emmy?!"

"Crazy, right?!"

Danny saw Mindy look over in his direction, confused but a little less tense. Cautiously, Danny leaned forward. "Uh, what's Orphan Black?"

Both men responded "IT'S INCREDIBLE" in unison, then proceed to gab excitedly. Danny didn't glean much from their conversation, but did catch the words "clone" and "hot glue gun torture" and decided that it was best to let them discuss freely and uninterrupted. Danny stood up and looked to Mindy. Once he caught her eye, he nodded towards to the bedroom. She quickly stood up and followed him inside, then closed the door behind her.

"Okay, so that's a start, right?" she said hopefully.

Danny put his glass on the nearby stand. "Yeah, it is!" He turned to Mindy and placed his hands on her shoulders. "See? They figured it out on their own."

Mindy let out a sigh while Danny gently rubbed her upper arms. "Danny, I was just so afraid that they would hate each other and that would somehow cause a rift between us, or like this was foreshadowing for when the rest of our families eventually meet. It's just hard to keep stuff like that from trickling into the relationship, you know?"

Danny shrugged, then stepped forward to place a kiss on her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Maybe so, maybe not…I'm just glad that we don't have to find out. How about this: from here on out, we just don't allow ourselves to get too invested in our families getting along perfectly. They can meet and figure out for themselves whether or not they like each other. Either way, we'll just continue to be Mindy and Danny, even if they end up going at each other's throats. Deal?"

As Mindy could overhear Richie and Rishi busily looking for the remote in order to start an episode from the Demand menu, she leaned forward and kissed Danny gently, clutching her wine with one hand and raking her fingers at the nape of his neck with the other. After a few seconds, she pulled back just enough to utter the word "deal" against his smiling lips.


End file.
